Category: Automotive News

Stella Automotive AI hires Rich Sands as CEO

By on June 21, 2023

Stella Automotive AI, a Tampa, Fla., auto retail technology startup funded in part by dealership groups Maroone USA and Pohanka Automotive Group, has hired auto industry consultant Rich Sands as its new CEO. His hiring, effective May 26 and announced Monday, comes after the company in early May announced it had closed a seed round of financing. Beyond Geoffrey Pohanka, the 2023 chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association and chairman of his namesake group, and Mike Maroone, CEO of Maroone USA, funding round participants included Czubay Family Enterprises and Presidio Group, a Denver and Atlanta investment banking and advisory…

VW’s PowerCo, Stellantis, Glencore back $1B mine deal in Brazil

By on June 20, 2023

LONDON — Global miners Glencore, Stellantis and Volkswagen Group’s battery unit PowerCo have agreed to back a $1 billion deal by blank-check fund ACG Acquisition Company to buy two mines in Brazil, ACG said. The deal comes as a mining M&A spread picks up, spurred in part by investors betting on the rising demand for metals needed for the global green energy transition in coming years. ACG, a London-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), will buy the Santa Rita nickel sulfide and Serrote copper mines from private equity funds advised by Appian Capital, which has hired Standard Chartered and Citigroup…

2024 Polestar 2 to start at $51,300

By on June 19, 2023

Polestar’s electric fastback, the Polestar 2, delivers more power, range and content for the new model year — along with a higher sticker price. The 2024 models arrive in August. The updated Polestar 2, like its XC40 and C40 siblings from major shareholder Volvo, receives a new-generation permanent magnet electric motor and new silicon carbide inverters to help boost efficiency and performance. It also gets larger, improved lithium ion batteries. For 2024, the single-motor Polestar 2 starts at $51,300, including shipping — a 3 percent premium over the current model. The single-motor variant shifts from front- to rear-wheel drive. A…

Nio joins Tesla in cutting prices and ends free battery swapping

By on June 18, 2023

Nio has been offering the battery swapping service for free at least four times per month to existing owners. It is among only a handful of EV makers betting on battery swapping as a way to power electric cars. Rival Tesla dismissed battery swapping as “riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use.” Nio said in February it would accelerate the expansion of its battery swapping network with a plan to build 1,000 swapping stations in China this year to bring the total number of such sites to 2,300 by year-end. The money-losing company’s investments in battery swapping stations,…

Transparency, simplicity key to supply chain, auto execs say

By on June 16, 2023

Young was joined by Jonathan Jennings, vice president of supply chain for Ford Motor Co.; Jeff Morrison, vice president of global purchasing and supply chain for General Motors; Ray Scott, president and CEO of Lear Corp.; and David Dauch, chairman and CEO of American Axle & Manufacturing. The roundtable was part of the Automotive Golf Classic, an annual event hosted by Automotive News, benefitting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan. The panel discussion, which took place at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in Orion Township, was moderated by Philip Nussel, online editor at Automotive News. The auto executives…

Autoliv sees pricing helping it hit or beat a mid-term growth goal

By on June 15, 2023

STOCKHOLM — Autoliv expects to meet or exceed its medium-term business growth target while reiterating all of its financial goals for this year, a week after announcing around 8,000 job cuts to save costs. The world’s largest maker of airbags and seatbelts said that due to price increases to offset high-cost inflation, its business expansion was on track to significantly exceed growth in light vehicle production by four percentage points per year. In a statement ahead of its US investor day, Autoliv said when adjusting for those price increases, it would meet or exceed the growth target set for 2022…

Need to Fix Damage to Your Rear Windshield?

By on June 15, 2023

Damage to your auto glass can put you and others in your vehicle at risk. Working with a company that offers professional auto glass services is usually the best way to resolve these problems quickly and effectively. If your rear windshield has sustained damage in an accident or by flying road debris, here are some of the most important things you should know about auto glass repairs for your vehicle in Tampa, FL. What Are the Two Types of Auto Glass? Auto glass generally falls into two basic categories. Tempered glass is used for rear windshields and window glass in…

Tesla EV charging agreements with Ford, GM muddle standard

By on June 14, 2023

Two pathways are emerging as electric vehicle charging infrastructure expands across the US Automaker partnerships will determine whether those technologies will coexist or whether one will push the other out, like VHS and Betamax. Four months ago, the US was heading toward a standard way of charging EV with chargers other than those built by Tesla using a common connector to become eligible for federal funding. Tesla’s charging agreement with Ford Motor Co. and General Motors threw that push to standardization into question and could further fragment the country’s charging infrastructure, at least for now, analysts say. GM and Ford…